


Atlas Fell Alone

by galaxy_of_words



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aliens, F/M, Minor Violence, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-13
Updated: 2016-08-13
Packaged: 2018-08-08 13:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7760317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxy_of_words/pseuds/galaxy_of_words
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allura is many different things, a great diplomat, a talented pilot, a strong leader. She is also incredibly reckless. Shiro can't ignore this any longer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Atlas Fell Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Allura is self destructive and needs to know people care.

They never talk about when Allura allowed herself get captured. There isn’t enough time to address it, not when escaping Zarkon and not when they all finally find each other after the wormhole incident. Shiro doesn’t forget about it, he can’t forget how she was so willing to sacrifice herself, how she actually smiled as the pod he was in took off, but they are busy. He does start to realize something though, he realizes that Allura is pretty reckless. 

Not when it comes to the paladins or the ship, because she’s careful there. She’s the one reminding them that they need to pull back when the fight gets too rough; not to push the lions too far; that they can’t do anything that would hurt their ability to form Voltron. But when it involves herself, she doesn’t hesitate to throw herself into danger.

When they visit a new species she’s always front and center and after a while Shiro starts to notice that she’s placing herself as almost a shield in front of them in case anyone is hostile. She quickly volunteers to go on any of the riskier missions, especially, the ones that involve infiltration and have little to no lion backup. They quickly realize that there is no way to talk her out of anything she’s determined to do. She outranks them and is possibly the most stubborn person Shiro has ever met. 

It’s more than a little worrying, but he doesn’t have time to try and begin to figure out what to do about it. It has to be set aside like so many other things. At least it does until Ueria. 

Ueria is fairly large planet famous for it’s harsh landscape and even harsher people. The main inhabitants of the largely mountainous planet are the Kozat, warriors who resemble eight foot blue goats with claws. A trader from a small backwater moon had pointed them to the planet saying that it was one of the largest inhabited planets outside of Galra control. 

Getting there it’s easy to see why, the whole planet is made of jagged mountains making it impossible to land a large ship, and the Kozat despite having no strong form of space travel of their own and generally being low tech they are by no means an easy target. The Voltron crew is visiting with diplomatic intentions, having the support of such a large planet that has managed to avoid invasion could be extremely beneficial for them. 

It’s a diplomatic missions and it’s decided that Allura, Hunk, and Shiro will be the ones to go in the yellow and black lions. Allura of course must go as the diplomat among them, Hunk comes because he has a knack for befriending alien species, and Shiro comes because he is the head of Voltron and thus an important figure. When they land a group of ten Kozat are there to meet them and as always Allura steps forward. Once again the black paladin is reminded exactly how alien she is as she begins to change shape to become more similar to their hosts. She keeps her normal bipedal form but grows impressive ram-like horns and matches the impressive size of the Kozat. 

Her new horns are pointed back and her posture bears her neck, a gesture of peace.   
“Greetings, I am Princess Allura of Altea and Guardian of Voltron.” She continues her voice even and proud and for, not the first time, Shiro is struck by how she always seems to be comfortable and downright royal in these types of situations.

“I am here with my companions negotiate a peaceful alliance with your people.”

She pauses to let them reply. It surprises Shiro when the response comes from a Kozat further back in the group. Shiro had expected them to have low gravely voices but a shrill high voice is what comes instead.

“We are willing to discuss an alliance. Please come with us inside to further discuss.” The alien then turns and together with the rest of their group they lead the way for Allura and the two paladins. It’s a good thing they did too because it becomes clear that they would have had very little luck finding the fortress on their own. It’s nestled pretty deep into the mountains and the path is made of twists and turns.

When their goat-like guides finally stop it’s in front of a giant boulder much like many of the others. Two of them go and push away the boulder leading the group into a well-lit cavern. It feels vaguely like a dungeon straight from a fairytale castle and it put Shiro on edge.

“Look I know these guys are friendly and we are here to become buddies, but I can’t lie this is kind of creepy,” Hunk whispers. Silently Shiro agrees. If Allura feels the same way she certainly isn’t showing it, still standing tall and proud in a way that vaguely reminds Shiro of when she was impersonating a Galra soldier. It doesn’t help to soothe his worries.

The Kozat say nothing more as they lead them through two large doors made of carved rock. The room is much wider than the passages and circular with a few doors put in different places all of which are closed. 

It’s almost a familiar set up and Shiro can’t quite figure out why but it makes him feel more alert. Something is wrong. Some of the Kozat filter out until three are remaining. It’s odd but they almost seem to be smiling at them. 

“Guys what’s going on? Where are the goat-people going? Is this how peace talks usually go because I don’t think this is how peace talks usually go,” Shro tries not to let Hunk’s rambling distract him. His eyes dart around the room, something is wrong. 

The top of the room has seats, almost like a stadium or arena and he watches about half a dozen of the Kozat file in to sit. 

It hits him hard like a blast to the chest because he was right this setup is familiar but in all the wrong ways. Round room, smooth walls, and observer seating.

“This isn’t a peace meeting,” he mutters loud enough for Allura and Hunk to hear but not loud enough to alert the Kozat. “I know this set-up, it’s a gladiator ring. When I say so run.”

Neither of his companions say a word but he can feel them tense up behind them. 

Everything happens so quickly and Shiro readies his arm to fight but before he can move his knees are hitting the ground. All he can see is dark purple walls, jeering figures, bloodstains of too many types and colors. All he can hear is the scream of “CHAMPION” and every bone in his body wants to fight but he just can’t move. He’s paralyzed. 

“Shiro!” 

“SHIRO!” 

He can hear the echoed cries of both Allura and Hunk. ‘Get up. Get up. Get up.’ he mutters to himself in his mind, his throat closed up, but nothing happens.

“Hunk grab him we need to get out of here.” He knows that someone is speaking and he knows who it is but he can’t put the name together and he can’t make out the words. It’s like being underwater.

Shiro is conscious of strong arms around him. The feel helps ground him. He’s not on a Galra ship, he’s on Ueria and he needs to help his friends. He’s still in Hunk’s arms but things are looking grim. The Kozat are much faster than they look.

Hunk’s running with Allura behind him and the Kozat behind her. The doors are still open but are quickly closing. They make it, Hunk gets through the door and Shiro’s sitting up in his arms as they glance back at Allura who is still in the doorway not moving even as the Kozats advance on her.

He realizes what she’s about to do a second too late all he can do is scream out her name as Allura slams a heavy stone door shut once again separating them. It’s like the Galra ship all over again and everything is like a nightmare and no matter how much he and Hunk push and scream and fight, she’s still on the other side of the door.

Hunk is a blessing. Shiro was still trying to calm his racing brain when Hunk set him down. Hunk turned Shiro around until their eyes met.

“Shiro my bayard is not doing anything we have to get to the lions. Do you understand?” Shiro can only nod. Maybe another time he would be kind of embarrassed that he needs a kid to tell him what to do, but right now he’s just grateful that someone knows what to do.

Shiro can’t remember last time he ran this fast. If any Kozat try to stop them he doesn’t notice, he’s too busy trying to remember the path back to the lions and trying not to remember all the things that could go wrong for someone stuck in a gladiator ring. 

When they finally get into the lions, it’s like he’s running on autopilot. He can hear Hunk mumbling something about ‘not again’ but he doesn’t have time for that. Every second is a second to long. 

The passages back to the Kozat base are slightly too narrow for the lions and they are scraping the rock and he can hear his lion protest, but he keeps pushing and he can hear Hunk right behind him. They have put the boulder that served as a door back in place but Shiro blasts it into oblivion. Hunk darts ahead and plows down the stone doors and once again Shiro doesn’t even think before he ejects himself from his lion. 

There are bodies on the ground. Two of the Kozat are either passed out or dead, he can’t bring himself to care which it is. The third is approaching Allura who by some miracle is still standing and aimed ready to fight despite the fact that her leg is sticking out at the wrong angles. They stop their stand off to look at him and Allura…

Allura is smiling. Eyes victorious as pink drips down her face from an ugly head wound (and in the back of his mind he thinks ‘so that’s what color Alteans bleed’) and the color stains her teeth poking out from a busted lip. She looks wild as she turns back to her opponent, both of them ready to fight. 

They don’t get the chance. Shiro’s across the room before he’s even sure what he’s doing. His arm comes down on the Kozat warrior’s back legs (if they’re bigger than you aim low, bring them to your level,) and he dodges a claw swipe as the creature falls and brings his arm down as hard as he can over it’s head. And he does it again, and again. By the fourth time it’s clear the warrior isn’t going to get up (He can hear the roar of “CHAMPION” in his head no matter how hard he tries to shake it and his body is trembling) and Shiro turns to what really should be drawing his attention. 

Allura has finally collapsed, she’s on one knee and trying to stand despite the fact that her leg is completely mangled and if the pink stuff is in fact her blood she is losing far too much of it. She still has the horns and height she gained before fighting the Kozat but she sheds it as he approaches. He’s thankful for that, he doubts he would have been able to carry her otherwise, but now she just looks so small and broken.

Her eyes are fluttering in odd patterns, struggling to stay open but she’s still smiling. He wishes she would stop smiling, it hurts somehow to see that smile more than seeing her wounds. 

More Kozat pour into the arena but it isn’t a problem with Hunk providing cover fire. He doesn’t run into any as he runs back to his lion holding the battered princess in his shaking arms.

When they get into the lion he doesn’t have time to think about treating any of her wounds, he wouldn’t even know how because he doesn’t know how Altean anatomy works. All he knows is that he needs to get her into a healing pod as soon as possible. She’s on the floor next to him and she still seems conscious which is probably a good sign. As he starts to fly up he can hear Hunk through the helmet muttering a mantra of “she’s okay, she’s going to be okay.” 

The second they dock he’s got her and is moving as fast as he can. The other paladins and Coran are shouting questions and concern, but he can’t deal with anything until she’s in the pod. And then she’s in and she’s alive and he can breathe again.

It takes four days. Coran has them orbiting a friendly planet while she recovers inside the pod. None of them feel like they can do anything to continue the fight against the Galra in the meantime. Not with Allura out like this. So, they wait.

Shiro tries not to spend too much time by the pod. It doesn’t do anyone any good. It’s better to ignore it than to just stare at it and worrying that maybe it isn’t working, maybe something went wrong. Maybe he could have done something to stop this from ever happening at all. He can still perfectly summon the image of her smiling through blood stained teeth. 

It’s a dangerous train of thought and he avoids it, distracting himself with anything else. He helps Keith train, he explores the vastness of the castle, he constantly checks in on everyone, anything but think about what happened on Ueria. The whole crew is on edge.

When Coran lets them know that it’s time for Allura to come out of the pod they are all there within minutes. It’s just like when they first unfroze her except this time the arms she stumbles into are Hunk’s instead of Lance’s. Hunk hugs her close and there are choruses of “You’re okay!” and “We were so worried,” and in the center Allura is there reassuring them that everything is fine. Except it’s not because when he sees her smile all he can think of is bloodstained teeth. 

He’s avoided it long enough. He seeks her out at night or whatever passes for night on this spaceship. Everyone else seems to have finally decided to go to sleep but he knows Allura well enough by now to know she won’t be. 

The room she’s in is shaped like a semi-circle with the rounded part made entirely out of windows. Silver couches and coffee tables make it look like a nice inviting place. He can imagine that in a different time it might have been full of Alteans chatting and enjoying the view and presence of others. For now it’s only inhabitant is Allura, perched on the edge of a couch and hunched over a coffee table playing what seems to be some type of game involving small floating marbles and a patterned board.

She looks content, peaceful even. For a moment Shiro wonders if he really needs to confront her but then he remembers being pushed off a Galra ship, her small smile as he got away, stone doors slamming shut, a mangled leg and a bloodstained smile. He knows he can’t back out of this.

“Princess.” 

She looks up from her game and smiles at him as the marbles cease to hover and fall to the table with a light ‘clack’.

“Shiro! I didn’t think I’d see you up this late?” She sounds so calm as if she hadn’t recently been dying.

He doesn’t know how to start this conversation. This isn’t like talking to Pidge or Keith about being too reckless. Allura isn’t a paladin and Shiro doesn’t have any authority over her. They are equals and that makes it so much more difficult. He figures however it goes he might as well be sitting down. He takes a seat across from her on a rounded silver couch.

She must be able to see how hesitant he is because she leans forward to look at him with concern.

“Shiro is everything alright?” she asks. It’s the way she’s worried about him that finally gives him the courage to speak. 

“I should be asking you that question, princess.” 

Maybe another time he would call the way her nose scrunches up in confusion ‘cute’ but now isn’t the time for those kind of thoughts. Her face lights up with recognition when she realizes what he could be referring to.

“I’m fine! The pods healed me completely. It’s sweet of you to ask, though.” She smiles up at him and Shiro can’t take it anymore.

“Why did you lock us out of that arena?”

Allura drops her smile slowly.

“I was buying time for the two of you. It was imperative that you two get to the safety of your lions.”

“So you wanted us to go get the lions so we would have back up then come get you and we could all get out safe?” He doesn’t know why he’s asking. He knows the truth but at the same time he’s hoping she’ll manage to convince him that he was right and she had thought it out before making a stupid, self-sacrificing move.

“Of course,” she says with a strained smile. It’s a pretty awful lie.

“Bullshit.”

“I’m not sure I’m familiar with the term?” 

“It means—you know it actually doesn’t really matter what it means. What matters is that you’re lying to me,” He says, frustration starting to get to him.

Allura looks surprised, almost hurt, but she doesn’t let it slow her down. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says coldly.

“Yes. You. Do. You didn’t care whether we came and got you or not. You just wanted us out of the arena and into our lions.”

“Is it wrong to want what’s best for my paladins!?” Her tone is biting and she pushes herself to her feet. He does the same.

“You can’t just throw yourself in front of danger for us all the time!”

“Who are you to tell me what to do Shiro!?”

“You can’t just keep sacrificing yourself! We are supposed to do this together we are a team, Hunk and I could have helped-“

“You could have done nothing!” She snapped. “You and Hunk needed to be away and safe.”

“How could you expect us to just leave you!?” Shiro says throwing his hands up in distress as he realizes he is not getting through to her.

“Voltron comes first. All five paladins are needed to pilot Voltron, I am not a paladin.”

The worst part about all of this is that in some twisted way it makes sense. She’s not wrong, it’s like the first time when she threw him off the Galra ship. They may have all balked at Keith’s idea to leave her behind but they can’t deny that he might have had a point. They are fighting a war and the truth is: Allura isn’t a paladin. She isn’t part of Voltron.

That doesn’t mean she’s disposable. Four kids from earth and Shiro, who, if he was honest about it, was practically a kid himself. Allura and Coran were the only ones who actually knew what they were doing when it came down to it. They were the diplomats, the strategists, the only ones who seemed to have any idea what they were doing. Shiro might have been in charge of Voltron, but Allura was something else. Something they couldn’t do without. And for some reason she just can’t see that.

“We need you!”

He can tell it throws her off. She almost stumbles back but catches herself. It takes her a moment to bounce back. 

“Voltron is-“ she tries but he cuts her off.

“We need you Allura.” He’s pleading now and he doesn’t even care. All the fight he had, the anger and agitation, has died and he just feels so very tired. “I need you. I- I can’t do this alone.”

Her mouth opens but she says nothing. He watches her fall apart in slow motion. Her shoulders shake and she wraps her arms around herself, nails digging into her sleeves. She falls to her knees, sobbing now as tears flow freely. She’s there on the ground, no longer the proud monarch he’s used to but something sadder, smaller. He kneels in front of her at a loss of what to do as she sobs. Cautiously he places his arm on her shoulder, an attempt to comfort her or show of support. Her sobs pass, but when she speaks there is still a slight tremor in her voice.

“I never intended for you to carry this burden alone.” She doesn’t clarify on what burden she means but he understands. Voltron carries the weight of worlds, of galaxies, and Shiro and Allura carry the weight of Voltron. Between that and the weight of her father’s legacy on her shoulders its remarkable that Allura still manages to stand proud and strong.

He gently guides her hand down off of her arms and into his own hands. He squeezes them to let her know he is there and she squeezes back hard enough to hurt.

“You don’t need to do this all alone either,” he says. “We can do it together.”

When he looks up at her face her eyes are focused on their hands, still intertwined and she has the smallest of smiles on her face. 

“Together,” she repeats.

The two of them sit there for what must be hours, the conversation isn’t over and there is a lot more they both need to say but for now they can just sit there and enjoy the support provided by being together. 

And for now that is enough.

**Author's Note:**

> I would like to thank Jewell, my editor, who kicked my ass until this fic was actually good.


End file.
